Wykes Engineering is at the forefront of the green energy revolution, manufacturing a range of products for renewable power generation. Demand for new systems and expansion of existing on-site anaerobic generation capacity at its Rushden location led to investment in machining capacity, part of which saw the arrival of large-capacity turning in the shape of an XL 780 lathe from XYZ Machine Tools.

The XYZ XL 780 with its 780 mm swing over the bed and 3 m distance between centres provides Wykes Engineering with the capacity and versatility it requires for the machining of smaller parts. This investment was Wykes Engineering’s first move into CNC turning, so priorities had to include ease-of-use, and support for programmers and operators.
“The Siemens control was completely new to us, but we’ve found it extremely easy to use, especially with the training support we received from XYZ Machine Tools,” says John Houghton, design engineer at Wykes. “We had a demonstration of the machine at XYZ’s factory on a Monday, which convinced us that it was the right machine and control. We placed the order the following week and the machine was installed and commissioned just 10 days later.”

The XYZ XL 780 also offered other advantages to Wykes Engineering, including the price. Having reviewed the market for lathes of this capacity, the company found the XYZ machine to be 10-20% less expensive than its competitors. Also, Wykes was reassured that service support and spares were readily available should the need arise.

“If we had any questions relating to programming and operating the machine, which was all part of our learning curve, they were answered with a simple phone call to XYZ,” concludes Houghton.

For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com